#allison taylor

[haaarpb]

y,know if it wasn’t for the skintone i would’ve thot lisa was ur oc lol anyways tho uuuuuuuuhhhhh love the lisa comics they kinda read like a serial y,know idk man i just like really enjoy them

listen give me the reins and i will run the show into the ground & make lisa a gay loser & eventually have it set in an office or something

[catelyngrant]

first of all, so sorry you're going through what seems like something pretty intense and difficult!

per your request, a distraction in the form of a question!

not quite Hacks but another Jean Smart character so adjacent, if you had been in the writers room, what would you have wanted to see happen with Martha Logan? not even like pragmatically within the confines of canon, just, fuck it, your dream story arc for Martha Logan?

Thank you so much 💕 and omg THANK YOU SO MUCH for this ask, this is so unexpected but I love it so much that it broke three pages in Google Docs lol, please enjoy!

To start, let's take her primary s5 arc and generally stick with it (I'm sure there were problematic elements I'd have tweaked—Evelyn would've come back at the end, for one, safe and sound), and completely ignore s6. And honestly, the immediate aftermath wouldn't be great television, so let's skip over the next couple of years, during which Martha would voluntarily, consensually, and safely remain off-grid while participating in and receiving top-notch mental healthcare with the support of a close network of trusted loved ones (including, of course, Aaron Pierce). And maybe it's just because of Hacks, but I think it makes sense to imagine her doing this in Europe! Somewhere very private with easy ability to avoid endless exposure to US politics.

I'd love to pick back up with her at some point post-s5 coming back to the US more permanently. This would be a super different genre of show, but I'd be obsessed with like a 6-8 episode miniseries following her rebuilding her life in the US while also flashing back to her earlier life (it's a dream arc, casting isn't an issue!). Jean and Greg Itzin had a pretty elaborate backstory involving them having lost a son not long before s5, and we know she was really close to David Palmer—I'd love to see her as a younger woman with tremendous political savvy, much like Sherry. (sidenote: her relationships with David and especially Sherry would be really, really interesting to dig into, so let's do that too!) But back to Charles—how did he and Martha get together? There was love there, I think, but was there a part of Martha that recognized that attaching herself to a pliable young politician was her best chance at attaining meaningful political influence? I'd love to see more of those earlier days and what I feel like must have been a complicated dance around running a household, motherhood, her own career aspirations, and the careful manipulation that allowed Charles to be politically successful while letting him think he was responsible for his own success.

More! So much more!

Seeing her in those early years would also be an opportunity to see more of a mental health baseline—did she struggle with depression, anxiety, etc.? Or signs of something more serious (psychotic episodes, paranoia, etc.) as alluded to in season five? Either way, how did that play out pre-breakdown/the death of their son (lumping those together here) compared to the version we meet in s5? We only get one day with Martha, and it's a day that starts out horribly and over 24 hours subjects her to intense grief, emotional manipulation, gaslighting, threats of and actual physical violence, and the unspeakable knowledge of her husband's involvement. She's also pretty heavily medicated for a lot of that time. I don't actually think I have a preference as to what story I find more interesting for her—someone who developed significant mental health symptoms after trauma vs. someone who's always navigated them, and if/how the circumstances of her later life (including/especially her institutionalization, forced treatment, and the ongoing threat of being sent away again) impacted that manifestation. They're all fascinating explorations, so in this dream world where this story can be told well, I'm open to any version of it.

And then the present-day Martha, I think, would be looking at what's next for her. I would like to see her wrestling with the decision to not expose Charles publicly, and Aaron would be a big part of that. I think of Aaron in this little series as serving a role very similar to what he did in s5—a close, steady presence, a moral baseline for Martha. I think their relationship would have built slowly while she was recovering with no real romantic progression for a couple of years, maybe with a shared understanding that it’s something they’d explore when their worlds stabilized a little. That would be part of what this story would explore, but in a quiet and undramatic way. I feel like they’d have one major conflict that would see Aaron getting truly angry/sad/upset/whatever at some point, and that would ignite a turning point for Martha in some fashion towards the end of this story.

I think the main story here would be her trying to figure out what’s next, personally and politically. Assuming we’ve got a great team of writers, I’d love to see her explore a political career. I don’t know what would be involved in making that a feasible option for a person with her history, but watching her dip her toes back into Washington waters and navigate her public perception and personal/emotional reaction to being back in those spaces. 

Luckily, at this point, those spaces would include Cherry Jones Allison Taylor! I have no idea what the timelines here are, but if they’re imaginary, let’s set this arc during Taylor’s historic campaign to be the first woman President. Martha would have an unofficial role with the campaign that would drudge up a lot for her—could this have been her if she’d bet on herself instead of attaching herself to Charles, or made any other number of different choices along the way? What possibilities are open to her now? Does she even want to get back into politics, after everything?

She’d connect with a lot of our other horribly-underutilized and/or done-badly women: Karen Hayes is in the political arena at this point and both she and Martha are in desperate need of just a friend, especially a friend who understands what it means to survive a day in the life of Jack Bauer. Audrey Heller has been tortured to the point of catatonia and/or psychosis iirc and is under her father’s care in some fashion, which would be fascinating to contrast with post-s5 Martha reckoning with how her own mental health was weaponized and used against her “for her own good”. Hell, let’s throw Lynne Kresge in there, too, and force Mike Novick to reckon with his s2 villain-era. And Evelyn would be working for her again/still in a major role (maybe as someone Martha recognizes acumen in and begins to quietly mentor)?

Through all of this, Martha’s mental health would be a very present story point. We’d see her ups, her downs, what tools and resources she has available to her and if/how she utilizes them, etc. I would want at least one major mental health setback, both because it feels like a pretty natural occurrence for a woman with her history in this situation and because this is a dream show where all of this is handled with nuance and care and can present a character who has to manage her mental health on a daily basis, not always super effectively, and not have that dictate her entire life. (It would also contrast s5 where this was all “managed” for her without her consent, leaving her traumatized and unwell.)

Charles would make exactly one appearance. He’ll have spent most of the season trying to get in touch with her/spin his own redemption arc/whatever, and while Martha would generally be much more even-keeled in this arc than she was on the day s5 took place, Charles would be an emotional landmine for her. I don’t think she’d see him in person. She’d take a phone call at some point towards the end of the season, though, probably contrasted against flashbacks to both the beginning of their relationship and what it devolved into in the aftermath of their son’s death/her institutionalization. It would have similar vibes towards her final scene of s5—victorious, done with him, etc.—but sad, too. Like, I think she’d probably be crying on her end but her voice wouldn’t give any hint of it as she leaves him with whatever words she’s decided she wants to haunt him the rest of his life. But there’s grief, still, for all of it.

After, she'd go to her son’s grave, and then David Palmer’s. Then she'd make her way towards the White House (escorted by Aaron Pierce) to start her day—the President is waiting for her, and wants her advice.

[thenhc]

[folks-just-call-me-orange-joe]

[squisheelady]

Lard of the Dance [S10 E1]

"Your name's Lisa? Shut up, I love that name!" "Did she just tell me to shut up?"

[small-tragedies]

001 The Simpsons!

Favorite character: Of course it’s Lisa Simpson. 🤣 When I first started watching The Simpsons, I was really intrigued by her character, and she grew to be my favorite character ever!

Least Favorite character: It would have to be Elizabeth Hoover. Lisa’s teacher at Springfield Elementary School. I just never liked the woman, at least with Edna Krabappel, who seemed like she didn’t like Bart. The thing was, she did actually care about her students and Bart, unlike Miss Hoover, who really doesn’t give a rat’s ass about any of them and has actually bullied an 8-year-old just because she felt like Lisa was a show-off. (Granted, Lisa can be a little full of herself at times, but she’s just a kid, and Miss Hoover is an adult who has personal issues and is taking them out on a little girl.) (Hehehe, I really info dump when it comes to a character I don’t like lol.)

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Lisa and Jessica are my OTP forever and ever! And I could go on all day about why I love them, but then I wouldn’t be able to talk about any other ship lol. I like to ship Lisa with the twin weasels ( I affectionately call them this and like to think Lisa does too 😂), Sherri, and Terri Mackleberry in a polycule V-type relationship (no incest), with Lisa as the hinge. (It probably goes without saying that I also ship the twins’ separately with Lisa too, and it’s usually Sherri. 😆) third pairing (yes, we are counting the twins’ as just the second ship, okay? They’re a unit right now, so I can say more ships,😂) would be Lisa and Allison. I love to think that if they had stayed very close friends, it would have turned into a friends-to-lovers situation, and I just think their relationship would be very cute and sweet, and they would grow old together. And my fourth pair I fancy is Lisa Simpson and Francine Rhenquist... You all are probably noticing a pattern... And you’re right because I have a thing—a thing for shipping Lisa with bullies... I just think she can be a bully whisperer and tamer, okay?! 🤣 And now, last but not least, my final and fifth pairing is Allison Taylor and Hubert Wong. I just think these two are too cute for each other! And they are just two cute little nerds in love. (Shout out to my sister @twisting-echo for getting me into shipping these two nerds).

Character I find most attractive: Groundskeeper Willie hands down! Have you seen that man without his shirt on? Absolutely beautiful~ 

Character(s) I would marry: Kang and Kodos, two one-eyed aliens, just for little ol’ me lol. 🤣💕💕💕

Character I would be best friends with: Professor Frink. I always loved his character and his zany antics.

A random thought: I once had a random thought about making a fic where it would be an AU where everyone had animal-like features, and I had wanted the whole Simpsons’ family to be cats. 😅🤣

An unpopular opinion: Oh, boy, here it goes... My unpopular opinion is that I really haven’t liked how they have written Marge in the newer seasons of The Simpsons. Just some of the storylines they do for her feel like they’ve done it a thousand times before, and it’s gotten old. And I have never liked how they have made it so that Homer has no problems bonding with his daughters, especially Lisa, but nothing with Bart. The same goes for Marge. I never like how in some episodes she can’t bond with her daughter, but honestly, it’s the writing overall because they always make either Lisa an asshole to her own mother or Marge is the asshole. Just why can’t they have cute bonding episodes for the whole family like what I’ve seen in Bob’s Burgers? 😭

My canon OTP: I wouldn’t say OTP, but I had always thought Comic Book Guy and Kumiko’s relationship was surprisingly cute and sweet. 

Non-canon OTP: This wouldn’t be me if I didn’t say it was Lisa and Jessica, now would it? Yessss, they’re my little babies! This ship is very dear to me; it’s been my OTP for years. 🤣💕💕💕

Most badass character: Gina Vendetti. I love her and think she’s a little badass. I also love to ship her with Bart. She’s his scary Amazon girlfriend who terrifies everyone around her lol.

Pairing I am not a fan of: Milhouse and Lisa; just no, I have never thought they worked well together ever! It's just sad to see him pine for someone who does not like him at all. Seriously, it was a running joke that Lisa settled for him, and that’s just sad. Millhouse deserves someone who actually cares and will love him, and Lisa needs to be with someone she’s not settling with because it’s all she’s ever known, and she knows he won’t leave her because he loves her too much and it’s just not healthy or fair to either one of them. (I love my girl, but she has to let him go so he can move on).

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I have never liked the slow decent at which they have taken Lisa’s character in how the show writes her. Back when the show first came out, she was intelligent, kind, and passionate about the planet and all living things. Mind you, she is still very intelligent, but they have taken some parts of her personality and turned it up to an 180. She is flawed, which is why I love her, but over the years, they have made her more of a snotty brat at times who throws her intelligence in people’s faces, and it doesn’t seem like she’s that kind anymore, and most of what she rebels against feels performative and hollow now. She could always be somewhat intolerant of opinions that differed from her own, often refusing to consider alternative perspectives and showing a feeling of self-righteousness. But it feels like that’s how she is all the time now, and I just haven’t been a big fan of what her character has become.

Favourite friendship: Now I’m going to completely talk about a “fanon” friendship since The Simpsons didn’t give me it in the canon of the show. I mean, sure, I could talk about Millhouse and Bart’s friendship, but sadly, while I like it, it is not my favorite, and the truth is, sometimes they abused each other more than they were good friends with each other lol. 😂😅 No, I’m going to talk about a friendship between Lisa Simpson, Allison Taylor, and Hubert Wong. I always thought it would have been nice for Lisa to at least have someone who was her friend in the show, someone she could bond with, just like Bart with Millhouse. But no, they have always made her a loner just for the sake of writing that not a lot of people like her in Springfield (poor baby, 😭) and they wasted the potential of Lisa and Allison’s friendship. In the show, they always show Lisa as a miserable adult who’s so bitter about everything. I like to think she would have grown up a little differently if she had at least one consistent friend (not Janey; Janey was just as bad as the twins’ with the way they bullied Lisa). And honestly, it would have been nice to see her hang out with two other people who shared similar interests as she did, and it just would have been cute. I definitely have more things to say about their friendship, my sister and I have made up in fanon over the years, but that’s definitely for a different post lol.

I’m so sorry that this is soooo long. 😂 Once you get me started on the Simpsons, I can’t stop rambling like a mad woman about it. 🤣 Thank you so much for this ask. This was so much fun to write out.

[somethingaboutlemonscomic]

7x07 // 7x08 // 7x09

Last update <<  🍋  >> Next update (coming soon)

🍋  >> First update

[twisting-echo]

Shipping Bingo: 

What do you think of Allison Taylor x Francine Rhenquist from The Simpsons?

Ahhh! One of my favorite Allison Taylor ships!